ABSTRACT
According to classical liberal theory, the freedom of the press is rooted in the freedom to publish in the free market. This ensures that the press reflects a wide range of opinions and interests in society. If a viewpoint is not expressed in the press, this is only because it lacks a sufficient following to sustain it in the market-place. As the heroine puts it in Tom Stoppard’s play, Night and Day, ‘The Flat Earth News is free to sell a million copies. What it lacks is the ability to find a million people with four pence and a conviction that the earth is flat. Freedom is neutral.’
